Dairakuji was founded in the 14 Century and is just across the road from Usa Hachimangu, to which it was connected. Usa hachimangu now appears to lie inside a massive park, but until the Meiji Period the grounds were filled with a huge number of shrine/temple buildings. Old paintings show at least 5 pagodas.
Dairakuji was founded as a family temple for one of the head priests of Usa Hachimangu, but when the Buddhist parts of the complex were destroyed some of the statues, many of which dated back to the Heian Period, were placed here in Dairakuji.
I got here a little late in the day and was not able to get into the Treasure House, but there was still a lot of nice statues in the grounds.
Including, like at so many of the temples on this Shingon pilgrimage, multiple versions of Fudo Myo.
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Looks like exactly the kind of temple I tend to like - rather rustic and surrounded by nature
ReplyDeleteThe big ones with all the tourists are more like museums or amusement parks